Nikolav //
Werewolf //
♦︎ // location: woods outside the mansion // tags: Cecil, (?) Atlas
Niko could sense the bodies around him shifting around and leaving, but he paid them no mind as his eyes frantically searched the forest for any sight of the beast who was challenging him. Even Nyx, whose scent usually made even his werewolf form uneasy, was overlooked when he was frozen from the growl. The literal chill in the air likely helped this, although as soon as everyone else had escaped and the dragon finally revealed itself, Nikolav finally had the guts to move again.
Ferocious barks rang from the werewolf's throat, which sounded a little less impressive with the bells on his collar chiming along with them. The tail that had been tucked in between his legs in fear was now excitedly wagging, moreso from not wanting to look weak than something more enjoyable. Nikolav dropped back to all fours when a large, scaled talon was placed on the ground and the reptile arched its neck to its full height. The wolf cowered for a moment as shivers ran down his spine- from the realization of just how immense this creature was or the icy aura that seemed to accompany it, Niko could not say.
The blood-stained beast was just beginning to think that it had bitten off a little more than it could chew when its opponent's throat took on a luminous quality. This spurred an immediate instinct: run away. Just as Nikolav turned to do so, his shoulder hit a wall of ice and he slipped with a yelp. The slick surface of the substance slowed his recovery of scrambling to his feet, and in a burst of adrenaline he dashed down the path towards the town. Heavy breaths and the jingle of bells accompanied him as he fled, ensuring that a stealthy escape would not be possible.
———
Nyx “The House Master” // Witch //
♦︎ // location: Mansion (front yard > entry) // tags: Maria, human group,
Nyx watched Maria's reaction silently, her golden eye scanning the canine over thoroughly before carefully setting her back down on her feet. "... very well. You look fully transformed by now, and stretching your legs will make you more comfortable. If you think you can control yourself then you can follow your friends inside- if you feel any degree of uncertainty, however, please stay out here." The witch held the wolf's face in her hands as she simplified her instructions as much as she felt was needed, then took them away and briskly walked to the front door after the others had made it inside.
A concerned stare was fixed on Ellis and the dragon standing next to him before it moved to the hungry vampire. Nyx tightened her jaw as she thought for a moment, then sighed in defeat. Her heels clicked as she stepped inside again and stopped by one of the spiral staircases. She pulled a book-disguised lever on a bookshelf and with a soft
-click- it revealed the classic hidden staircase downward. Finally, the witch looked back and addressed the room.
"Please do not leave the house. You two, and anyone else who got hurt, follow me. The rest of you stay up here." She looked back to Eventide and Ellis and gave a flick of her finger to prompt them to follow her and gracefully disappeared into the darkness. Although she was not visible anymore, she added a quick, "My familiar will keep you company. Ask him for help should you need it."
The black cat that was curled up on the floor by the door did not look all too helpful, but his wide eyes made it evident that he was at least paying attention to the situation.
———
Audrey // Human //
♦︎ // location: mansion entryway // tags: human group, Nyx, Bryce, Silver, Xanthe
Audrey panted in the doorway of the house, her vision spinning from the effort of making it over. Kori's hand was still held very tightly although the girl had released her grip around his torso, and her now free hand grasped the wall for support. She barely registered much about the sight inside until Seraphina spoke and Audrey finally looked up.
To say the least, the entryway that they had stepped into was
not the one that she had expected; it was far more comfortable than the usual abandoned building. The outside of the house gave no indication that the inside was as brightly lit than it was, even if that light came from an array of a chandelier, candles, and different styles of antique lanterns. The wooden structures were not rotten in the slightest, and the furniture was barely (if at all) dusty. If Audrey hadn't looked into the history of the house beforehand to make sure that it was long empty, she would have sworn that someone were still living in it.
Sure enough, two people were standing there to greet them. and then a third appeared right as the rest of the group was filing in. Audrey's hazel eyes grew wide as she observed the strange characters- mostly Bryce and Xanthe, since Silver appeared to look quite normal. As if Bryce's outfit weren't eye-catching enough, his twitchy attitude and red irises were sure to draw any attention his way. The brunette very quickly realized that these people were probably actors or other kids that were set up here by the person who had posted the "invitation", which was made even more evident by the mothman's implication that they weren't human. Audrey did not voice this assumption just yet since she could not find as easy of an explanation for outside- something very real
had taken a bite out of Ellis' shoulder, and she had found their reaction to be awful genuine.
"Sorry- there's-" Audrey started to explain themselves, still in the midst of catching her breath. "Werewolf-" the girl eventually got out, her eyes pleading as she looked towards Silver and hoped that she believed them. "Our friend- do you have a first aid kit or something? We have to call an ambulance-" She started to panic a little bit, especially when she realized that her phone was not with her anymore and swore under her breath. There was no way she was going to go back out for it, although this discovery did make her feel even more anxious (if that were even possible at this point).
She was snapped out of her hopelessness at the muttering of the boy next to her, and in a moment of courage she didn't know she had, Audrey raised their still-clasped hands. "Hey, hey, we will. Soon. Everything is going to be fine and we'll figure everything out and get back, okay?" Her eyes rose to Nyx and watched what she was doing, then shook Kori's hand again. "See? They're going to help Ellis. They're strong, they'll be all right." The teen murmured, trying to convince herself of the same thing.
———
Eventide (Vin) //
Dragon //
♦︎ // location: mansion entryway // tags: human group, Nyx, Bryce, Silver
Ellis' "thank you" right next to Eventide's head caused an expression of regret force itself onto their face. "No, I'm... I'm sorry." He mustered out with a shaky breath, closing an eye in effort when they made it to the steps by the door. "This is all my fault. I..." Vin trailed off. It seemed like they were going to say something else but thought better of it, and eventually they just shook their head. "I'll tell you later. Let's get you fixed up first."
The lavender-haired dragon slowly brought Ellis inside, ignoring what was either sweat or blood drenching their clothing. It meant little to them either way. Even when it could have meant Ellis losing more blood Vin didn't know why they couldn't bring themself to shift forms, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't give it their all in their current one. When the person dressed as a witch from before gestured for them to follow her into an extremely suspicious cave-looking passage way, Eventide felt that they couldn't refuse. The sensation this time was stronger than when she had pushed him before, actually, and the teenager could have worn he felt a thread on his chest pulling him along. As gently as he could, Vin helped Ellis down the stairs.
The sight at the bottom was... kind of exactly what one might expect in the basement (or dungeon..?) of a haunted house. The room looked like the lab of a mad scientist, boasting all kinds of strange contraptions and mixtures. There were also a number of empty cages, ones that Vin sincerely hoped wouldn't be put to use any time soon.
The dragon held their companion a little tighter when they looked back to the center of the room, stiffening at the sight of Nyx expertly mixing a few fluorescent liquids in flasks. "What are you planning on doing with those? Shouldn't we get something to stop the bleeding?" Vin couldn't hide the outrage in his voice, though did his best to lower his volume for Ellis' sake. Their pupils had also narrowed quite dramatically as they got defensive, along with a few iridescent scales becoming a little more obvious.